On September 21, 2023, a visiting doctoral researcher, Ms. Nichole Grossman, shared some ideas from her study of how people in "forced migration camp setting" improvise with health care management.
Ms. Nichole Grossman, a Ph.D. Candidate in International Relations at the American University School of International Service, Washington DC, USA, and a Visiting Scholar at the Centre for Democracy and Development, Abuja, Nigeria, was a guest presenter at the SAS Seminar series. In a paper titled "Seeking Care for Chronic Health Issues in Forced Migration Camp Setting: The Case Study of Nigeria's Internally Displaced Persons-A work in Progress," she revealed "how dogged and persevering the people living in the various IDP camps in Nigeria can be to ensure their safety from diseases and sicknesses."
In her abstract, she posited that "the rise in forced migration currently coincides with a rise in the rate of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCCDs) throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Because the health care offered by the government and NGOs to forced migrants focuses on acute health care needs, many forced migrants living within displacement camps must find alternative ways to meet their health needs".
Her study focuses on internal displacement camps in Nigeria as the site of inquiry, even if, in many significant ways, camps for internally displaced persons within a country differ from those of migrants in a foreign country. Ms. Nichole set out in her study with the hypothesis that to meet these needs, camp residents create self-help institutions such as peer groups, savings groups, or women's groups.
She is drawing raw data for the research at five sites in three states, including camps for displaced persons in Adamawa, Borno, and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Reported by John Abah